Tag: Bowmore

Just found three old Islay (or at least Islay related) videos tonight I thought worth sharing. The first one is of Bowmore distillery in 1983 (not sure why it says Port Charlotte in the title/description, as Bowmore distillery is of course in … Bowmore):

The second video shows a ferry in West Loch Tarbert, I assume it’s the Islay ferry. I’m not entirely sure, but I think it’s the MV Iona (later also known as Pentalina B when she was sold on):

Before getting to West Loch Tarbert a popular stop is the village of Tarbert. It seems to have not changed that much since 1983:

I hope you found these short clips interesting, I find them fascinating for the views back in time.

No, I don’t know if their pizza oven will be peat fired. I don’t even know when it will open. All I know is that (hopefully soon) a new pizzeria will open on Islay. In Shore Street in Bowmore to be precise, in the building that most recently housed the Holy Coo restaurant.

Yes, it’s the first of the month. No, it’s not April. It’s February. In other words, this is not an April Fools. Some rather interesting news have come out about Islay and whisky legend (or is it whisky and Islay legend?) Jim McEwan in connection with the currently under construction Ardnahoe distillery overlooking the Sound of Islay. From the press release:

World-renowned whisky distiller Jim McEwan has been appointed Production Director of Ardnahoe Distillery on Islay – 18 months after he retired.

The Islay-born whisky industry icon, who has 53 years’ experience under his belt, has been hired by Hunter Laing & Co, the family-run Glasgow whisky company behind Ardnahoe, the first distillery to be built on Islay for more than a decade.

Ardnahoe is being built on the north-east coast of Islay and will become the ninth distillery on the island. It expects to start distilling whisky in early 2018.

As Production Director at Ardnahoe Distillery, McEwan is playing a pivotal role at the distillery for the Laing family – father Stewart and sons Andrew and Scott. From shaping its design and installing his preferred pieces of distilling equipment, to fine-tuning the production processes and selecting casks, he will influence every step of the whisky-making journey at Ardnahoe.

The distillery, which will include a visitor centre café, shop and tasting room, will produce traditional peated Islay single malt.

McEwan will also work on a number of other as-yet-secret creative projects that are sure to make waves across the spirits world.

Many will of course know Jim from his roles at Bruichladdich and Bowmore in his previous lives. As Master Distiller at Bruichladdich he’s remembered for famous whiskies like the Octomore and the mysterious Black Art. Not to forget bringing gin to Islay with The Botanist. Before joining Bruichladdich he had spent 38 years at Bowmore distillery in almost every role imaginable after starting his career there in 1963 as a 15 year old apprentice cooper.

Jim is quoted as saying:

I had intended to ride off into the sunset, but I’ve known Stewart for many years and have always been impressed with Hunter Laing whisky. When the call came in, it really excited me.

It felt as though the stars were aligning; the amazing location, my history with Islay, my relationship with the Laing family, their passion for the project, the calibre of architect Iain Hepburn, plus my chance to get involved with the design of the distillery for the first time in my career, all made it feel like it was ‘meant to happen’.

Similarly Andrew Laing, Director of Hunter Laing & Co, said:

It’s hard to think of anyone better qualified than Jim McEwan to develop the character of the newest Islay malt whisky. Jim has lived and breathed Islay whisky his whole life and is bringing all of his passion and knowledge to Ardnahoe Distillery. The three of us are hugely impressed with the whiskies he’s produced in the past and can sleep easy knowing that he is in ultimate charge of whisky-making at Ardnahoe

For further news and updates you can follow @Ardnahoe distillery on Twitter, including expected announcements about their planned participation in the Islay Festival in late May.

They were filmed 10 years apart, but both are a bit older, showing Islay 33 and 43 years ago respectively. The first one seems to be some old TV footage filmed in 1983, showing Port Charlotte and a few other places on Islay in a short clip:

Going back a further decade to 1973 we can watch some fascinating old footage with some long gone history, starting with the MV Arran ferry (not to be confused with the MV Isle of Arran, which was much later) leaving from the old West Loch Tarbert pier:

The rest of the film shows a variety of familiar places, some in a way now gone: The Oa with the American Monument I believe before it became an RSPB reserve (not sure which year that happened?). Port Askaig long before it was redeveloped to what it is today. Ardbeg distillery with smoking pagodas. A brief glimpse of what I think is Western Ferries’ MV Sound of Jura. An excursion to Jura with of course plenty of deer.

The filmer seems to have also had some interest in birdwatching. I think there were a number of Whooper Swans (the quality of the footage isn’t great, making it difficult to see) and there’s some footage of the Barnacle Geese as well.

Announcing the relaunch of the blog this morning I hinted there might be a second ‘Christmas present’ coming up. Having only finished editing it late in the evening on Christmas Evening I still had to upload it this morning. But it all worked out and I can proudly present my latest Islay video. It’s a bit different from the videos I’ve made previously. To start with it has music. Then it’s monochrome. And it’s quite fast paced. A bit of an experiment, I’m very curious to see what people think. Here it is:

In 4.5 minutes I’m taking you on a quick journey around Islay, taking in as much as possible in such a short period. Admittedly some of the selections were influenced by the availability of footage, in other areas I had to make difficult choices what to show and what to omit. Here is a list of the places you can see in chronological order:

Port Ellen buoy

Port Ellen lighthouse

Port Ellen warehouse

Port Ellen houses with passing Islay Coaches

Port Ellen Maltings

Port Ellen pier/marina and village

Laphroaig approach from loch

Laphroaig smoking pagoda

Laphroaig stills

Dunyvaig castle and Lagavulin

Lagavulin distillery

Bowmore distillery approach from sea

Bowmore Main Street

Round Church

Barnacle Geese in front of Port Charlotte

Barnacle Geese at top of Loch Indaal with Paps of Jura

Bruichladdich approach from sea

Bruichladdich over distillery

Bruichladdich spirit safe (making Port Charlotte spirit)

Past Loch Indaal lighthouse to Port Charlotte

Port Charlotte pier from above

Port Charlotte Main Street towards Port Charlotte Hotel

Loch Indaal lighthouse with breaking waves

Waves breaking over Port Charlotte pier

Saltire flying in Portnahaven

Rhinns of Islay lighthouse and fishing boat

Seal in Portnahaven

Waves breaking near Port Wemyss

Single track road towards Kilchoman

Approaching Kilchoman Church

Ruin of Kilchoman church from the air

View of Machir Bay

Beach view in Machir Bay

Otter in Machir Bay

At the wreck in Machir Bay

Above the wreck in Machir Bay

Breaking waves in Saligo Bay

Waves blown back by wind in Saligo Bay

View towards Sleeping Giant / Opera House Rocks in Saligo Bay

Saligo Bay from the air

Barnacle Geese feeding at Gruinart

Barnacle Geese lifting off at Gruinart

Barnacle Geese over the Gruinart marshes

Barnacle Geese over grazing cows

Approach to Finlaggan from the air

View of the house ruin at Finlaggan from the air

MV Hebridean Isles arriving in Port Askaig

Passing McArthur’s Head lighthouse

I still think that’s quite impressive for 4.5 minutes, also a sign of how much Islay has to offer. It might be too fast and hectic for some, but then it might be exciting and fresh for others. I’m normally not a big fan of music for videos (certainly for my videos) and prefer more natural sounds, but here it felt appropriate so I used some. To avoid any rights issues (not to mention that the lyrics I feel often don’t really fit) I didn’t use any big hit(s) known to many but used some free music offered by Google. No lyrics, so no risk of conflict there either. The style of music will probably not be to everyone’s taste, I like the speed and energy in it.

Now it’s over to you, I hope you enjoy and like the whirlwind tour of Islay. Let me know what you think.

Posts navigation

About this blog

This is a blog about the Isle of Islay, an island in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. It is run by Armin Grewe, a regular visitor to the Island. I don't live on Islay (yet?), but that doesn't stop me blogging about Islay.

I will blog about anything Islay related I can think of: pictures, news, links, whisky, bird watching, wildlife, you name it.